5E Adventure's in Midgard – North (Reaver's Spring)

Game Master Tareth

Oh yes!

Happy me!

500 is nice.

Hey all. Slight delay as I have our annual financial audit today. Should be able back to posting tomorrow morning.

Whoop I should have rolled that dex to open chest. Hope it doesnt blow up and maim aterro.

Still haven't got regular services restored stateside, I'm here though :) Caught up and following along.

Yeah, for the record, Vrindel's idea was awesome and I totally messed it up. Sorry...didn't consider the book would do that.

Ancient shadow fey spell book of mysterious and unknown origins and power....what could possibly go wrong. ;)

Oh but Finnigan's outrage about Zove's book and Vrindel's plan was purely IC! Hopefully that goes without saying but just making sure :)

Yeah figured, I just feel guilty is all. I really did like Vrindel's idea and wish I had waited longer to post.

Don't worry about it! it's all good fun. Now Finnigan is pretty sure the shadow fey are part of a vast conspiracy against freedom loving people everywhere.

They aren't?!

Here's the XP and treasure for the encounters in the cavern: 140XP each. (1 Potion of Healing 2d4+2, Scroll of "Shadow Bite", Scroll of "Unluck on That", Ivory and Jade Chess Set, Unidentified Obsidian Vial, 100GP)

Plus a 100XP each bonus for completing your mission to secure the village for Bentknee and finding the children. Although you still need to figure out what to do with them. :)

Just a quick update since we've pretty much completed the first portion of the story. I obviously under estimated how long it would take, but hopefully everyone has enjoyed this improvised section to get the group to a bit higher level and to provide some additional tie-ins before tackling the published (and very likely with more improvised bits added) portion of the adventure.

I will assume everyone is okay continuing forward, but if for any reason someone wants/needs to drop just let me know. It's easy enough at this time to have a PC become an NPC with Bentknee's caravan or to send them back to the city with a message or something.

I'm in! This has been great fun thus far! Thanks Tareth and thanks to my wonderful colleagues!

I'm in to keep going.

Heck yeah Vrindel is in.

Indeed, good stuff.

Even split on the 100 gp I assume (16 gp 6 sp 6 cp each)? I was hoping to Find Familiar assuming the materials (incense, charcoal) can be found somewhere.

Zove: There is plenty of charcoal around the burnt remains of the village or Bentknee likely has some. And there would be a bit of incense available in the runemasters stores inside the mill.

Zove, you’ve two spells for your spell book too

Well the cantrip (shadow bite) can't be copied, so selling it might be better. Unluck on That sounds like a neat spell, it basically lets you impose disadvantage as a reaction. Still, much better 2nd level spells if we'd rather sell it.

We might have Bentknee appraise the chess set too.

I'm traveling again on business for the week, so my posting will be random and non-combat. Please bot me as necessary.

cheers

doozy of a work schedule next couple days, pretty much sleeping in my car between shifts there's a good chance :/

will be quiet from me bot as needed

Wow.

That is a doozy! o.O

Yup 7am - 2am twice in a row . Not in the same venue either, couple hours travel also involved. Tough couple days. I'll probably post on my break though

Well I brought something back from India 0_o

Giardia ! No fun. I took antibiotics today and read the posts. I'll be light for a bit.

Ouch! So sorry to hear. I am glad you managed to identify it and get medicine. These things work, though I’m sure you must be feeling quite low. On my trip to India, I brought giardia as well, plus another parasite, and it took me too long to notice. It was a long way uphill...

Be well.

That's hilarious I've also had the big G, but in East Africa. Digital high five.

Okay so apparently I'm in the minority for not having a nasty parasitic sickness at some point. Who would've guessed. :)

Finnigan, hope you get well soon and are able to take care of yourself to recover from both being sick and the nasty work schedule.

Also 135XP for each of you for the Shockwing Moth encounter.

I, uh, also do not have a parasite ravaging my weak mortal form.

(mental note: never go anywhere!)

Wow I'm in good company!

Yeah I guess the little critters stowed away in my intestines ands waited to strike for me to be exhausted from overworking .

I think giardia is a cyclical thing. So you might have a few days where you're ok, then it gets worse and worse.

And worse.

Would Vrindel's "Fey Touched" background have any effects on the saving throw?

Vrindel: I don't think it would affect the actual saving throw. The background seems to apply more to identifying or locating natural magical power centers (ley lines, portals to other realms, stone circles, etc.) rather than protection from individual fae powers. I would say it would help you identify the magic as being fae or from a fae creature. However, rechecking the MM, since I am using the harpy template, these would be classified as monstrosities rather than fae, so I guess that wouldn't apply either in this case.

I think giardia is a cyclical thing. So you might have a few days where you're ok, then it gets worse and worse.

And worse.

Hey something to look forward to! It's ok. I'm glad it's nothing serious.

Wow I never saw this coming.

Tareth I like your DM style! No fudging!

Suspense!

Had my RL game last night. Frankly don’t know what ibrox will do

Just stay on Overwatch. I have a feeling things are about to get better. =)

Finnigan: Just a heads up that it doesn't look like Vrindel has the Goodberry spell in his list.

Good DM writing .

Thanks Finnigan. Glad you're enjoying it.

Agreed. Awesome writing!

Just to clarify, Trevor lost his chain shirt and boots. He still has his rather soaked trousers, socks, and tunic as well as his weapons. So he's not completely naked...just a bit more vulnerable. ;)

As for water depth, he sank a good 25' and still hadn't come close to touching the bottom. With some more rope and a little time you can estimate the actual depth is twice that give or take a few feet.

Finnigan: Yes, everything is up on top of the cliff now.

Zove: An interesting idea with the unseen servant. A couple of things though. Per the PHB, it has 1HP and can drop to 0HP so therefore is able to take damage. I think there would need to be some kind of swim check (or maybe a series of concentration check from you) in order for the force to avoid getting 'broken apart' by the currents, waves, or rocks. I could be convinced against this, but that is my initial take. Plus, other things seem more problematic. For instance, unless you have a way to find or see the missing items, you have no way to direct the servant to fetch them. I don't think it has enough intelligence to "search for" something and bring it back. At least that is the way I'm reading the spell. Third, there is no shore (at least here or within at least a mile or two in either direction) to drag the armor to. There needs to be a way to lift it up the cliff. Finally, the distance from the top of the cliff to the sea is 60 feet, plus another varying 50 - 60 feet to the sea floor. So a total of about 120'. Range on the spell is only 60' so you'll need to be floating on the surface (or close to it) to stay within range.

For sure a solid idea, but I'd say at least a couple of these challenges need solutions for it to work.

Of course you all can just chalk it up to the teenager learning a valuable lesson about not jumping off of cliffs and continue the journey. Maybe a bit of sewing at camp to turn a blanket or extra pants into simple moccasins for his feet. Anyone willing to give up their blanket? ;)

I'll wait for a cue from you all on what you want to do before moving things forward.

No problem, just interacting with Aterro's comment. I was curious for future reference though how you would handle it. I like to use it instead of mage hand.

Makes sense. Although each situation is different, I'd agree the two spells are similar and servant could be used in place of mage hand in many circumstances. It's interesting that servant can take damage while apparently mage hand can't. Must be the price for the higher lifting capacity and range. Huh.

For me the big advantage this edition is action economy. Its a bonus action unlike mage hand's action.

Ah! That makes sense.

Two things.

1) Imma concur with the good DM Tareth on all things, except the concept that an Unseen Servant would need to make a swim check to not be torn apart by waves. Would a person have to make a swim check to avoid damage in the sea? I've never heard of it. A person might want to avoid drowning, but water itself does not hit with the concussive force of a fragmentation grenade, so I'd say, in the spirit of 5E being "D&D for busy people" such a thing might be a bridge too far. All the rest seems a fair cop. ^_^

2) Since Trevor isn't pushing for the retrieval of his kit, I see no reason to delay that party over it. If he insisted that his character was unplayable without it, that'd be a different matter, but Trev is embracing it, so no reason to trouble our heads on it further.

Tally ho. =)

I don't want to debate the point too much, and I would agree if the scene were taking place in a calmer lake, pond, slow moving stretch of river, or a quieter, calmer shoreline. No worries and no swim check. And yes, typically a person would not take damage just from being in the ocean.

But this scene was in a deep, rocky, sea shore with swirling currents, waves, and tides. A dangerous and historically deadly type of location. And we are talking about a 1HP entity with no 'body,' and I guess very little mass, to hold it together. So even a weak punch is enough to disperse it. It must be susceptible to outside forces, otherwise why give it a HP value at all? So what if a medium sized fish randomly swam 'through' it? (It's invisible, so the fish wouldn't try to avoid what it can't see.) If a waves dashes it against the rocks, or it gets caught in a whirlpool of opposing currents there might be enough energy to do 1HP worth of damage.

With a little extra time to think, I'd say given the magical 'force' nature of the spell, I think I'd lean toward the Concentration check alternative I mentioned rather than Swim. That would better represent the pitting of a caster's focus and ability to keep her magical force stable and together in the face of the naturally chaotic, battering and unpredictable powers of nature. It would also highlight the extra effort needed to use the spell in extreme conditions that are outside of its normal parameters (i.e. on land and with little or no adverse environmental or other conditions). And maybe not a check every round, but every minute or 10 minutes with difficulty starting quite low, but increasing as time passes and it becomes more difficult to maintain the servant against the constant disruptive powers of nature. I could see the same challenge if trying to use it during say a sand storm, hurricane, in a burning building, etc. It would require more focus and concentration on the casters part to maintain the spell and keep it 'safe' from all the various threats. (This also has the added benefit of keeping the tension focused on the PC rather than magical entity, maintains flexibility to use the spell under adverse conditions, but doesn't allow it to be an instant succeed in any nasty situation which could make it overpowered for a 1st level spell.)

But having said all of that, I would concede your point about the spirit of 5E and push the GURPS part of my brain aside. And as you said, there were still all of the other challenges given the limitations on the spell and the situation. :)

So moving on....65 XP for everyone for defeating and running off the mermaids. Plus an additional 75XP for all the great RP and rescuing of Trevor. Trevor regains inspiration. I think everyone else already has Inspiration, but if you don't you do now.

I can see either way. DM's always right though, that's the other part of the oldschool mentality :)

But yeah, fast and loose is what I expect from 5e generally.

All good.